It was the only chance to get ready for all the races to come this weekend and there was a long line at the end of the pit lane ahead of Verstappen’s 60-minute race.

The first was set by AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries, who established the leading benchmark at 1m49.541s.

De Vries and his teammate Yuki Tsunoda were the only riders to start on the soft tyre, with most of the rest on the medium and a few starting on the hard.

Times slipped rapidly as the drivers picked up speed – Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris, Leclerc and de Vries once again took the top spot briefly, but it was the Red Bull duo who often jumped ahead as they scurried around the media .

Verstappen had just dropped the top time to 1m43.834s when the race was stopped by a red flag at the end of the opening 15 minutes.

This was due to a drop in fuel pressure as Kevin Magnussen stopped on his Haas for the Turn 1 decider, just as he had to turn close to the 90-degree right-hand inside wall Out for a moment and lost all his speed as he then approached the exit barrier on the other side of the track.

The race was stopped as he got stuck, but Pierre Gasly’s Alpine caught fire as it slid through the Turn 1 runoff ahead of Magnussen, but then needed to clear the track Stopped inside Turn 12 on the Castle section, so there was a longer delay. As he slowly made his way back to the pits, the flames didn’t go out.

The blaze, initially sparked by a hydraulic leak on the A523, burned for several minutes before it was finally brought under control, ultimately meaning the team and drivers lost almost a quarter of their total practice time at the end of the race with 32 hours left in the race. minute.

Alpine F1 Team’s Pierre Gasly stands next to his car after a breakdown kept him out of the road

Photography: Zak Mauger / motorsport pictures

The team restarted, minus another Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and competitors in trouble – including Tsunoda, who badly damaged the rear of his AlphaTauri and suffered a puncture on the way back to the pits, causing him to turn 3 skidding.

All remaining drivers continued to use the hard medium tires in the middle of the race, and several personal bests were set, but Verstappen’s best time was not affected.

The Red Bull duo appear to have used the time to finish their fuel-guzzling preparations ahead of the upcoming race before heading in ahead of the final quarter with most everyone else – just as Lance Stroll split the leading pair from the flyer in the middle Alonso reported DRS problems in another Aston car.

The final stage turned into a mini practice on the soft tyres, as most drivers set their sights on the crucial rubber for qualifying for the Grand Prix later on Friday, with Oscar Piastri taking the lead and finishing in the red Jumped from 19th to seventh on Wall Rubber.

Verstappen was the first of the leaders to set a lap on the soft tyre, taking the lead in 1m43.042s a few seconds after Alex Albon took the lead in 1m43.628s on the slippery Williams.

But farther down the track, Perez beat Verstappen in the first two zones, and although he was unable to overtake the Dutchman in the final zone, he was still first in 1m 42.651s.

Verstappen then closed the gap on Perez with a second round on the same soft tyres, before Leclerc split the two Red Bulls – although the Ferrari driver had to stop him on the turn 2 escape The first flight, but the key is not locked.

Perez’s second round followed two sluggish preparation trips, with a time of 1m 42.600s leading him further ahead until the end of Leclerc’s second qualifying simulated effort, which he won in Paris. The drivers who took the last two poles took the lead with a time of 1m 42.352s.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23

Photography: Zak Mauger / motorsport pictures

Even after the checkered flag, the action wasn’t over as Verstappen had plenty of time on his padded lap for the third lap.

Although he didn’t match Leclerc’s time in the opening two stages, the RB19’s straight-line ability meant he was able to gain enough advantage to take the lead and enter the leading time of the session – 1:42.315 seconds.

At the back, Carlos Sainz, who escaped early on on the inside wall of Turn 5, completed his personal best lap on the soft track to finish fourth, right behind What made Perez fail to go faster was his third late attempt.

Lando Norris was close behind – another driver who made the jump late – followed by de Vries and Stroll.

Alonso ended up finishing eighth, but as Aston Martin opted for a split strategy there was no soft tire run, and the Spaniard also reported a DRS problem ahead of the final round but was able to make it after a pit stop. solve.

Albon finished ninth ahead of Zhou Guanyu, while Kakuta retired late after repairs and finished 14th.

The Mercedes driver did not complete the soft tire test after reporting brake problems in the opening laps.

Lewis Hamilton is 11th for the Black Arrows, with George Russell 17th.

FP1 results: